US Justice Department drops criminal probe of MF Global

An inside look at the power of crony capitalism at work. In this re-post article from Global Research.ca, a connect the dots view emerges in which the old adage applies: A man with a briefcase can steal more money than any man with a gun”. We should no longer wonder as to the reasons why a all-out collapse of confidence is now upon us.

The New York Times published a front-page article on August 16 reporting that the US Justice Department is preparing to end a ten-month criminal investigation into the collapse of the Wall Street brokerage firm MF Global without charging the company or any of its employees.

This is despite what the Times called the “disappearance” of some $1 billion in customer money that emerged when the firm filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection last October 31. MF Global raided clients’ accounts in an attempt to meet margin calls in the days leading up to its collapse. The newspaper reports that $175 million of this stolen money went to JPMorgan Chase.

The failure of the firm, on the other hand, left “farmers and other customers out millions,” according to the Times report.

Nevertheless, the company and its former chairman and CEO Jon Corzine are likely to be given a free pass by the government. The Times cited “people involved in the case who spoke on condition of anonymity,” making clear that news of the government whitewash had been deliberately leaked, presumably in an effort to prepare public opinion and dampen popular outrage.

The Times is no doubt also motivated by concerns over the impact on the Obama reelection campaign of yet another official cover-up of Wall Street criminality, given that Corzine is a former Democratic senator and governor of New Jersey and a top fundraiser for the Obama campaign. He hosted Obama’s first reelection fund-raising event at his Fifth Avenue apartment overlooking Central Park in Manhattan.

Failure to prosecute the multi-millionaire Goldman Sachs CEO (1994-1999)-turned Democratic office-holder will create difficulties for a campaign based—absurdly and cynically—on casting Obama as a quasi-populist alternative to his pro-Wall Street opponent.

Exactly one week before the appearance of the Times article on MF Global, the Justice Department announced it was ending a criminal investigation into securities fraud by Goldman Sachs and would not bring charges against the bank or any of its employees. In doing so, it spurned the recommendations of the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, which released a voluminous report last year documenting in detail how Goldman fraudulently offloaded toxic mortgage holdings onto investors and failed to tell them it was betting that the investments it was marketing would fail.

That same day, August 9, Goldman reported that the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) had ended a separate probe of a sub-prime mortgage deal stemming from 2006 and had decided to take no action. (See: “A law unto themselves,” http://www.wsws.org/articles/2012/aug2012/pers-a15.shtml).

In the figure of Corzine, key aspects of the criminalization of the US ruling elite and the thoroughgoing corruption of its political system, including the incestuous ties between Wall Street and the Democratic Party, come together. Corzine embodies the financial parasites at the top 0.01 percent of the income scale whose swindling precipitated the global economic crisis and who have, with the assistance of the Obama administration, further enriched themselves from the social catastrophe they produced.

In his career, he personifies the revolving door between the boardroom and government office and the domination of the political system and both major parties by Wall Street. After being forced out of Goldman Sachs in 1999, Corzine used $62 million of the $400 million fortune he had accumulated to get himself elected US senator from New Jersey.

In 2005, he used another $38 million of his own money to win the state house in New Jersey. As governor, he imposed brutal cuts in health care, pensions, higher education and aid to the cities, as well as slashing 5,000 state jobs. As a result, he lost his reelection bid in 2009 to Republican Chris Christie.

In March of 2010 he became chairman and CEO of MF Global. He began making enormous bets with borrowed funds that the sovereign debt of countries such as Spain and Italy would not collapse, including a single bet of $6.3 billion—six times MF Global’s capital. When the firm reported a second quarter 2011 loss of nearly $190 million due to the worsening of the European debt crisis, investor confidence in the company collapsed.

Nevertheless, in the 18 months he headed the firm before running it into the ground, Corzine took in $14.25 million in total compensation. The August 16 New York Times article reports that Corzine is now considering launching a hedge fund.

The refusal of the government to prosecute MF Global or Goldman Sachs and their respective executives is anything but an aberration. Nearly four years since the Wall Street crash of September 2008, not a single high-ranking banker has been criminally prosecuted, let alone jailed.

Federal regulators have refused even to hold civil trials for bankers up to their necks in corrupt and illegal practices. Instead, the government has arranged one settlement after another in which financial firms and executives paid token fines and in return were let off without admitting guilt.

The Obama administration has brokered the following major settlements:

* In July 2010, Goldman Sachs agreed to pay $550 million in a settlement with the SEC on charges of misleading buyers of mortgage-related investments.

* In October 2010, Countrywide Financial CEO Angelo Mozilo agreed to pay $67.5 million to settle an SEC investigation into fraud and insider trading practices in the sub-prime mortgage market.

* In March 2011, the Justice Department dropped a criminal probe of Mozilo without laying any charges.

* In June 2011, JPMorgan Chase paid $153.6 million to settle a civil fraud case with the SEC.

* In July 2011, Citigroup settled a civil fraud case with the SEC for $75 million.

* In February 2012, the Obama administration brokered a settlement with Bank of America, JPMorgan Chase, Citigroup, Wells Fargo and Ally Financial over rampant fraud and forgery in the processing of foreclosure documents. The banks were penalized a combined $25 billion—only $5 billion of it in cash—in return for the quashing of 49 state investigations with the potential for tens of billions in fines. The settlement enabled the banks to accelerate their foreclosing of homeowners.

The record speaks for itself. The American financial aristocracy is above the law. It lies, steals, cheats and destroys livelihoods with impunity, protected by its bribed political representatives. It has turned the economy into its personal gambling casino, secure in the knowledge that its losses will be covered by public funds.

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Global Financial Tyranny to be Exposed in US Court

If you ever wanted to connect the dots concerning Global Financial Tyranny and see behind the proverbial screen, a Federal Complaint case filed recently (November 23, 2011) in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York, has all the makings to do just that. The veil that has been unknowingly draped over our eyes is about to be lifted!

Here is a document download link to the case filing pulled from Pacer.gov site-

Is This Too Good To Be True?

This case has all the factual components to finally prove there really is a conspiracy to control the world’s financial system by a select few. It could also very well through exposure, bring about monumental and worldwide change in the structure of the global economy. The time has finally arrived…Surely we are now living in a time period that demands truth to be exposed. On all levels everywhere around us for those with “eyes to see” we can easily recognize a brighter day coming into view. The tormenting storms of our past are transforming into a new paradigm. For that, I’m grateful and sincerely glad to be alive here and now bearing witness to this time of transition.

Please don’t expect the main-stream media outlets to pay attention to this case until they can no longer avoid it.To date there has been minimal press exposure about this case however Court House News did publish information surrounding the case here: http://www.courthousenews.com/2011/12/05/41930.htm

Paradigm Game-Changer

Through exposing here this potential world-changing event, I too contribute towards a brighter day for all. Please participate as well by discussing the relevant, and timely importance of this matter with those you know as well as link to this article, and/or forward it on.

I have long said the global economic/monetary system has been engineered, controlled and maintained by very few and not for the benefit of mankind as a whole. This case exposes the extent of deceit and could very well be the catalyst that cannot be stopped.

The basis surrounding this case fundamentally involves what many would describe as international intrigue starting before WWII. Moreover, it could easily be a blockbuster master-mind fictional thriller novel and movie! However, this is no fictional story or movie. It is very real. And the introductory evidence presented in the 111 page filing in Federal court bears out the astonishing facts.

The revelation this case provides so far threatens to expose the 300 year tyranny of systematic economic oppression of not only world’s populace, but all nations of the world. All this is a total game-changer for those select few who have owned (for too long) the mechanisms of oppression and control. That is- the creation of money and its mechanics for world dominion. I also suspect those valiantly involved in bringing this case to court could face untimely death by the “unseen” hand of despots in desperation. Apparently and unfortunately, some already have.

However, for those involved in bringing this case forward, they have safeguarded in multiple locations their “ace-in-the hole” to protect their well-being.

Well Researched and Documented

I want to personally thank David Wilcock over at Divine Cosmos, for his exceptional research on the somewhat complex subject matter. He seamlessly weaves a compelling time-line through his detailed approach to fact-finding. Although there are quite a few characters and historically provable events tied to this story, and ultimately the case submitted to the court, he brilliantly connects the dots for even the uninitiated in matters such as this.

For a complete comprehensive investigation of the back-story start here:

California is the eighth largest economy in the world, and it has a debt burden to match. It has outstanding general obligation bonds and revenue bonds of $158 billion, largely incurred for infrastructure. Of this tab, $70 billion is just for interest. Over $7 billion of California’s annual budget goes to pay interest on the state’s debt.

As large as California’s liabilities are, they are exceeded by its assets, which are sufficient to capitalize a bank rivaling any in the world. That’s the idea behind Assembly Bill 750, introduced by Assemblyman Ben Hueso of San Diego, which would establish a blue ribbon task force to consider the viability of creating the California Investment Trust, a state bank receiving deposits of state funds. Instead of relying on Wall Street banks for credit – or allowing a Wall Street bank to enjoy the benefits of lending its capital – California may decide to create its own, publicly-owned bank.

On May 2, AB 750 moved out of the Banking and Finance Committee with only one nay vote and is now on its way to the Appropriations Committee. Three unions submitted their support for the bill – the California Nurses Association, the California Firefighters, and the California Labor Council. The state bank idea also got a nod from former Secretary of Labor Robert Reich in his speech at the California Democratic Convention in Sacramento the previous day.

Why a State Bank?

California joins eleven other states that have introduced bills to form state-owned banks or to study their feasibility. Eight of these bills were introduced just since January, including in Oregon, Washington State, Massachusetts, Arizona, Maryland, New Mexico, Maine and California. Illinois, Virginia, Hawaii and Louisiana introduced similar bills in 2010. For links, dates and text, see here.

All of these bills were inspired by the Bank of North Dakota (BND), currently the nation’s only state-owned bank. While other states are teetering on bankruptcy, the state of North Dakota continues to report surpluses. On April 20, the BND reported profits for 2010 of $62 million, setting a record for the seventh straight year. The BND’s profits belong to the citizens and are produced without taxation.

The BND partners with local banks in providing much-needed credit for local businesses and homeowners. It also helps with state and local government funding. When North Dakota went over-budget a few years ago, according to the bank’s president Eric Hardmeyer, the BND acted as a rainy day fund for the state. And when a North Dakota town suffered a massive flood, the BND provided emergency credit lines to the city. Having a cheap and readily available credit line with the state’s own bank reduces the need for massive rainy-day funds (which are largely invested in out-of-state banks at very modest interest).

The Center for State Innovation, based in Madison, Wisconsin, was commissioned to do detailed analyses for the Washington and Oregon bills. Their conclusion was that a state-owned bank on the model of the Bank of North Dakota would have a substantial positive impact in those states, increasing employment, new lending, and government revenue.

What California Could Do with Its Own Bank

Banks create “bank credit” from capital and deposits, as explained here. Under existing capital requirements, $8 in capital can be leveraged into $100 in loans, drawing on the liquidity provided by the deposits to clear the outgoing checks. Assuming a 10% reserve requirement (the amount in deposits normally held in reserve), $8 in capital and $100 in deposits are sufficient to create $90 in loans ($100 less $10 held back for reserves).

In North Dakota (population 647,000), the Bank of North Dakota has $2.7 billion in deposits, or $4000 per capita. The majority of these deposits are drawn from the state’s own revenues. The bank has nearly the same sum ($2.6 billion) in outstanding loans.

California has 37 million people. If the California Investment Trust (CIT) performed like the BND, it might amass $148 billion in deposits. With $12 billion in capital, this $148 billion could generate $133 billion in credit for the state (subtracting 10%, or 14.8 billion, to satisfy reserve requirements).

There are various ways the state could come up with the capital, but one possibility that would not require new taxes or debt would be to simply draw on the treasurer’s existing pooled money investment account, which currently contains $65 billion in accumulated revenues dispersed to a variety of funds. This money is already invested; a portion could just be shifted to the CIT. Since it would be an investment in equity rather than an expenditure, it would not cost the state money. Rather, it would make money for the state. In recent years, the Bank of North Dakota has had a return on equity of 25-26%. Compare the 25-30% lost in the two years following the 2008 banking crisis by CalPERS, the California Public Employees’ Retirement System, which invested its money on Wall Street.

There are many inviting possibilities for applying the CIT’s $133 billion in credit power, but here is one easy alternative that illustrates the cost-effectiveness of the approach. Assume the bank invested $133 billion in municipal bonds at 5% interest. This would give the state close to $7 billion annually in interest income – nearly enough to pay the interest tab on the state’s debt.

Choosing Prosperity

What California can do with its own bank, other states can do as well, on a scale proportionate to their populations and economies. North Dakota has a population that is less than 1/10th the size of Los Angeles; the BND produced $62 million in revenue last year and $2.2 billion in loans. Larger states could generate much more.

We have been trapped in an austere neo-liberal economic model in which the only alternatives are to slash services, raise taxes, and sell off public assets, all in a futile attempt to “balance the budget” in a shrinking economy. We need to start thinking outside the box. We can choose prosperity, and public banks are a key tool for achieving that end.

2012 A Doorway Into Another Age?

With the massive wave of 2012 hype and hypothesis bombarding us from every side, I though it would be fun to take a look at selected opinions from our global family with their sometimes unique perspective of what these days may hold for humanity. To add in some flavor, included are a few statements from the esoteric thinkers and visionaries of our current age.

No matter what your opinion may be concerning these fantastic days we find ourselves in, or the whole “2012” subject, one cannot easily dismiss the entire notion that absolutely nothing profound or out of the ordinary is increasingly effecting people and the planet we call home.

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Aztec- Call this the Time of the Sixth Sun. A time of transformation. Creation of new race.

Cherokee- Their ancient calendar ends exactly at 2012 as does the Mayan calendar.

Dogon- Say that the spaceship of the visitors, the Nommo, will return in the form of a blue star.

Egypt- According to the Great Pyramid (stone calendar), present time cycle ends in year 2012 AD.

Hopi- Predict a 25yr period of purification followed by End of Fourth World and beginning of the Fifth.

Incas- Call it the ‘Age of Meeting Ourselves Again’.

Mayans- Call it the ‘end days’ or the end of time as we know it.

Maoris Say that as the veils dissolve there will be a merging of the physical & spiritual worlds.

Pueblo- Acknowledge it’ll be the emergence into the Fifth World.

Zulu- Believe that the whole world will be turned upside down.

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”A telepathic interplay which will eventually annihilate time”

(Alice Bailey)

”Translation or dematerialisation to another sphere of the Universe”

(Teilhard de Chardin)

”A matter-antimatter implosion leaving a mutation of matter to photoniform. Our minds will unite like the fragments of a hologram.”

(Terence McKenna)

”As the Schumann resonance increases to 13Hz, Gaia goes from Alpha to Beta frequency & wakes up. Increasing tryptamine & beta-carboline neuro-chemistry allows us a telepathic communion, as we become used to our light bodies in preparation for the magnetic pole reversal when there will be a mass out-of-body-experience.”

(Geoff Stray)

”Evolutionary quantum leap. Human / ET interface & the arrival of a new species or kingdom on Earth.”

(Jon King)

”In 2012, Earth’s axis will tilt, along with a polar reversal, causing terrestrial and celestial grids to re-align, the pineal eye will perceive beyond ultraviolet,& we’ll ascend to the next dimension beyond time.”

(Moira Timms)

”The human race will unify as a single circuit. Solar & galactic sound transmissions will inundate the planetary field. A current charging both poles will race across the skies, connecting the polar auroras in a single brilliant flash.”

(Jose Arguelles)

”A moment of quantum awakening. A nanosecond will be stretched into infinity and become non-time, during which we will all experience full consciousness of who we are and why we have incarnated. If we choose to return to human form, we will do so in an awakened state, as ‘reflective cells’ of the starmaker.”

35 Facts Showing How Much The Average American Has Been Destroyed By This Economy

Sobering statistics to say the least. Each of the 35 facts has an accompanying image that really does speak a thousand words. As I have repeatedly wrote about- Our global debt-based monetary system has for all intents and purposes run it’s logical and mathematical course. This is the result. A new day awaits as this fractured “Humpty Dumpty” system of money creation via debt issuance can no longer deliver the economic prosperity necessary for sustained growth.

This is a bad game of musical chairs and the music has stopped playing

Not to mention the sums of money needed to be extracted from the real economy to service these staggering interest payments on equally un-payable debt levels. We see this on every level- Consumers, businesses & corporations, States and Sovereign nations. Fear-Not! There is another more sound way to reduce or eliminate these cycles of despair created by this method of money-creation. Stay tuned…but for now, I’ll leave that good news for another article. (Click the image below for article)